When I returned to my cabin mid-morning I found two members of staff still there, tidying up the bedroom and cleaning the bathroom. They hurried away, indicating in broken English that they would come back later. It was only when they had left that I noticed the delivery on the chest of drawers.

Nandos had sent me a whole, hot, cooked chicken and several packets of nachos. Was this an attempt at encouraging me to eat in this restaurant (which I had never visited before)? I also faced a practical problem: I was due to catch a train to Newcastle in the next half hour. Should I eat the chicken before I set off, or carry it with me down the East Coast line?